Members of the Joint Arab List and some members of MK Mansour Abbas's Ra'am party – one of four Arab parties (Ra'am, Balad, Ta'al, and Hadash) that comprise the Joint Arab List -- are outraged, claiming that Mansour has formed a political alliance with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Likud.
Senior members of the joint list, including MK Ayman Odeh and Balad chairman Mtanes Shihadeh, say a political gambit of this kind could cause the Joint Arab List to break apart.
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On Tuesday, MKs from the Joint Arab List were astonished when Netanyahu attended a meeting of a Knesset committee formed to contain crime in Israel's Arab sector at Mansour's invitation. Netanyahu's arrival underscored the disputes between the various Arab Knesset factions.
Abbas and his people argued that his good relations with Netanyahu and Likud MKs, such as Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, "help promote plans to contain crime and allocate government and public budget funds and resources to the Arab society, which has been neglected by the governments of Israel for many years."
Last month, Mansour torpedoed an Opposition vote to establish a committee of inquiry into the submarines affair, also known as Case 3,000, in which Netanyahu was investigated but which was closed without any indictment. This bolstered claims by Joint Arab List members that Mansour was cooperating with the prime minister.
Members of the list are also claiming that Mansour helped Netanyahu secure the appointment of State Comptroller Matan Engelman last year when he and three other Ra'am MKs voted for Engelman in a secret Knesset vote.
Meanwhile, associates of Mansour – who also represents the Southern Branch of the Islamic Movement – argue that Mansour was responsible for the Joint Arab List securing 15 seats in the 23rd Knesset. Members of Mansour's circle also claim that he defended Odeh and members of Hadash who took stances in support of the LGBTQ+ community, sparking outrage in the Arab sector.
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